Press Statement by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in Komtar, George Town on 22.02.2014.

Penangites Are Smart Enough To Distinguish Lies Which Will Not Succeed In Undermining And Destabilising The PR Penang State Government From Fulfilling Our Historic 68% Mandate To Deliver A People-Centric Government.

In the last few weeks, Penang has seen a series of vitriolic episodes beginning with demonstrations by UMNO leaders and supporters in Seberang Jaya, in which threats to repeat May 13 were made, provocative banners put up in front of churches, Molotov cocktails (fire bombs) thrown into a church compound, and the desecration of a mosque with meat in Bukit Mertajam. This is on top of violent threats made to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, whereby RM1,200 was offered to anyone who could slap her and record the incident.

In addition, there have also been false allegations this past week by the Chairman of a Parents Teacher Association(PTA) that Malay Bibles were being distributed to Malay children at the Sekolah Menengah Haji Zainal Abidin in George Town. Another false allegation is by an UMNO Youth Terengganu leader that the Penang state government is planning to ban Friday sermons.

These two allegations against the Penang state government have been proven to be completely false and unsubstantiated. According to the police, no one has been caught for distributing such Bibles, nor has there been any police report lodged over the matter. The PTA chairman has now removed his false allegation from his facebook account. At the same time, the suggestion that the Penang state government is planning to ban Friday sermons is nothing but utter nonsense.

And yet, no action has been taken against those who were responsible for spreading those lies whether it is a Chairman of a Parents Teacher Association of the Sekolah Menengah Haji Zainal Abidin or an UMNO Youth leader from Terengganu. What is so dangerous about such lies is that they can incite and provoke racial strife and disrupt our social harmony amongst various religions.

It would appear that the country has been overtaken by extremists and bigots. Penangites are smart enough to distinguish lies which will not succeed in undermining and destabilising the PR Penang state government from fulfilling our historic 68% mandate to deliver a people-centric government that is clean, accountable and transparent.

The Penang state government will neither be cowed nor be distracted from our efforts towards a cleaner, greener, safer and healthier Penang. Instead, we are determined to defeat these extremist elements by celebrating our diversity and uniqueness as a strength and not a weakness because PR believes that social harmony can only be achieved when we celebrate our differences.

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